Nothing much happened in 2017

2017 was probably my worst year of reading and writing in recent memory. I read very few books and short stories, and reviewed even fewer on this blog. Personal and professional commitments took up most of my time, while the daily commute became increasingly stressful, leaving me with little energy to read or write. 

As the year wore on, my visits to other blogs declined. That was the one thing I missed the most. But a new year, as Calvin tells Hobbes, is a "new beginning" full of "new possibilities," and I look forward to reconnecting with fellow readers and bloggers. In fact, that's the first thing I'm going to do in 2018.

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I watched quite a few films and television series during the year, many of them Netflix originals. I particularly enjoyed Godless, a fine western, and Alias Grace, a psychological drama based on Margaret Atwood's novel, which I still haven't read. Beasts of No Nation, about a child soldier in a war-torn African country, was disturbing, though I felt Idris Elba's character could have been better developed.

For some reason, I also binge-watched Jason Statham's crime films on Netflix. They reminded me of the hard-boiled thrillers I enjoy reading. A couple of them, especially The Italian Job and The Bank Job, felt as though they had come straight out of a James Hadley Chase or Lionel White novel.

Another documentary I enjoyed was Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. There was nothing particularly new about its central idea—mystics have preached "less is more" for centuries—but it served as a useful reminder. To be honest, I've been hoarding books when I should have been reading them and giving away those that no longer deserve a place on my shelves.

On the writing front, well, I'm still writing—or struggling to, thanks to time constraints and the occasional bout of what we call writer's block, which is probably just an excuse not to write and watch a film instead. I have unfinished short stories, a novel I've only recently begun, and a work of nonfiction that I hope will make people feel good about themselves. I intend to persist with all three in 2018, write every day and work to deadlines.  

One bright spot during the year was the publication of my first short story, A Little Murder at Dinner, on Juggernaut Books. It's an atmospheric tale about a police officer and his wife, set against the backdrop of a double murder.

So that's how the year was. Not much happened. But I hope to make things happen in 2018, particularly where my writing is concerned.